Anyone using the Crower Baja Beast cam on a 3rd Gen 4.6?

[rtk11]

I have an '02 EB AWD with 4.6 and 3.73 gears. I see a lot of online reviews of the Comp Cams XE262 and 268 series, but virtually no reviews of the Crower Baja Beast cams for the mod motor. Wondering if anyone here has any experience with the Crower Baja Beast cams (grind # 62905)?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

 

[rtk11]

Thanks for the bump, Fix4Dirt!

Not sure anyone's done this as the grind is not readily available from Crower. You can send in a set of cams and they'll grind it to the profile you select though... and that turn-around is about 2 weeks. I sent in a pair of PI cams I purchased off eBay to be ground into this Baja Beast cam.

In speaking with Crower Technical Support, they advise that it should be fine to run the stock valve springs (I bought Crower replacements since I'm in there anyway), and the idle should be similar to stock. I think a little lope would be nice, but we'll see what it sounds like after I get all parts and install it and post a review (maybe a video if the exhaust sounds any different.)

Crower does think this cam will produce more torque and horsepower, and should be good to 6,000 RPM, though my Explorer will shift before then (5,500 rpm?) I've got a Magnaflow high-flow catalytic converter system that feeds my Gibson exhaust, so the exhaust should be pretty free flowing.

I did look into the Comp Cams XE262AH and almost went with them. I was able to find a dyno plot online from the DIYFord story and saw that the XE262AH worked well above 4,600 RPM, but the gains were fairly minimal below that. The XE262AH may be a great cam for a lighter vehicle, but in my mind, a heavy SUV would want more torque.

Enough rambling... I'll share more once all the parts arrive and my credit card cools down...

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Thanks for the bump, Fix4Dirt!

Not sure anyone's done this as the grind is not readily available from Crower. You can send in a set of cams and they'll grind it to the profile you select though... and that turn-around is about 2 weeks. I sent in a pair of PI cams I purchased off eBay to be ground into this Baja Beast cam.

In speaking with Crower Technical Support, they advise that it should be fine to run the stock valve springs (I bought Crower replacements since I'm in there anyway), and the idle should be similar to stock. I think a little lope would be nice, but we'll see what it sounds like after I get all parts and install it and post a review (maybe a video if the exhaust sounds any different.)

Crower does think this cam will produce more torque and horsepower, and should be good to 6,000 RPM, though my Explorer will shift before then (5,500 rpm?) I've got a Magnaflow high-flow catalytic converter system that feeds my Gibson exhaust, so the exhaust should be pretty free flowing.

I did look into the Comp Cams XE262AH and almost went with them. I was able to find a dyno plot online from the DIYFord story and saw that the XE262AH worked well above 4,600 RPM, but the gains were fairly minimal below that. The XE262AH may be a great cam for a lighter vehicle, but in my mind, a heavy SUV would want more torque.

Enough rambling... I'll share more once all the parts arrive and my credit card cools down...

View attachment 439104

i do think for this application, a torquey cam is better than a hp cam, since gotta get off the line to take any advantage of the hp pickup hahaha plus, here, cant go that fast anyways! you can run stop light to stop light (or bumper to bumper on the 405) but its rare to get some serious speed! though sometimes theres maniacs speeding on the 5 through boyle, but thats besides the point also whereabouts in socal are you? is that cam carb legal?

 

[rtk11]

i do think for this application, a torquey cam is better than a hp cam, since gotta get off the line to take any advantage of the hp pickup hahaha plus, here, cant go that fast anyways! you can run stop light to stop light (or bumper to bumper on the 405) but its rare to get some serious speed! though sometimes theres maniacs speeding on the 5 through boyle, but thats besides the point also whereabouts in socal are you? is that cam carb legal?

I agree - LA/OC traffic is pretty tight, so the ability to get off the line really helps. Plus going off road, having torque is preferred to high horsepower. I do plan to do some towing with my Explorer, so that also swayed me toward the Torque/RV cam.

I'm in Huntington Beach. The cam is not CARB legal, but from what I'm reading, it should run as clean as the OEM PI cam, and the cam should be mostly imperceptible during smog checks. Heck, if the Comp Cams XE262AH cams can pass the sniffer, this cam should be able to do it just as well.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I agree - LA/OC traffic is pretty tight, so the ability to get off the line really helps. Plus going off road, having torque is preferred to high horsepower. I do plan to do some towing with my Explorer, so that also swayed me toward the Torque/RV cam.

I'm in Huntington Beach. The cam is not CARB legal, but from what I'm reading, it should run as clean as the OEM PI cam, and the cam should be mostly imperceptible during smog checks. Heck, if the Comp Cams XE262AH cams can pass the sniffer, this cam should be able to do it just as well.

yep, lol! for your use, definitely the high torque one! basically starting from santa clarita all the way down to dana point gets pretty tight, after that smooth sailing though usually! some are more open than others, but of course the ones we use are the ones every oen else wants to use for the msot part! (except 118(from the valley))

interesting, let me know how that goes! i mean as long as its not too choppy, i doubt they'd notice anything as long as its not tuned and passes the sniff. and this isnt a lowered square body, so it doesnt need to nearly stall at every light

 

[rtk11]

Wow - a year almost to the date since I last responded in this post. During that time, a lot had happened - finding PI cams to have reground, finding out later that the heads had been line-bored, so THOSE cams had to be sent out to be reground, putting things together and bending an intake valve, finding a set of reconditioned heads, installing new valve seals, Crower springs and retainers, yada, yada, yada. So despite the year going by, it wasn't for lack of trying and need for parts. (including new exhaust manifold studs, EGR tube, and new O-rings for the hard coolant line under the intake manifold.)

So, after that ordeal, how's she run? The Crower Baja Beast cam does have a mild lope (expected), and tipping into throttle does move the Explorer very nicely. That increased torque is noticeable. We didn't go full throttle as we're wearing in the cam and will change the oil next weekend... but here's a video of the 3rd start-up (first two burned off oil we used to coat the cylinder bores while waiting for parts, etc.)